March Madness for mental health: take the Mental Wellness Bracket Challenge

This March, it’s time to add a little fun to your  mental wellness routine with the On Our Sleeves Mental Wellness Bracket Challenge! Whether you do it with your family, your classroom or a youth group, everyone can have fun discovering what mental wellness activities are best for them!

Just click the button below to download and print your bracket, then get started having fun, and making mental wellness a priority!

Download your brackets here!

This bracket is all about practicing mental wellness as a family and discovering what mental wellness means to you. Everyone’s a champion when we take care of our minds together! 

How to Play: 

1. Print a bracket for each member of your family. 
2. Choose two mental wellness activities to try at a time (feel free to spread them out over a few days). 
3. After trying each activity, everyone gets to decide which one they liked best. 
4. Keep going until you find your each person’s ultimate favorite!

What activity won your bracket? Fill out our poll or share it with us on social media using the hashtag #OnOurSleevesinAction so we can see how you’re making mental wellness fun for your family! 

How to find the best mental wellness activities for you 

When it comes to mental wellness, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Some people thrive with active activities, while others find peace in quiet reflection. You might even enjoy both, depending on the day or what you’re going through. The key is discovering what works for you—and having fun while doing it! 

The Mental Wellness Bracket Challenge is the perfect opportunity to spark meaningful conversations with your family about which activities bring each of you the most joy and calm. It can also serve as a helpful roadmap for understanding how to best support your kids (and yourself) on your mental wellness journey.  

Explore mental wellness with these 8 activities 

Whether you’ve tried these activities before or not, here are some helpful instructions as you go through your challenge. You can put your own spin on it or adapt it to your needs! 

1. Pick one area of your room to declutter: 

Why this works: A messy room is a messy mind. The more stuff we have to manage, the more stress we tend to feel. The act of decluttering also gives our minds time to just wander and imagine. When our space is decluttered, we will have an easier time keeping up with our tasks and be able to enjoy a clean environment.  

Do the challenge:  Take some time to pick one area of your room to declutter ( like a closet, under the bed, or in your dresser drawers). We’ve all experienced getting motivated to reorganize our closet only to get worn out halfway through the project, then living for the next 6 months with half of the contents of our closet laying all over the floor!  The key to this avoiding this is to pick one small area and only do what you have time for.  

2. Try a breathing activity like smell the flower and blow the petals or rainbow breaths 

Why this works: Mindfulness and breathing activities can help kids manage their stress and increase relaxation. Here are just a few examples of activities you can try: 

Take the challenge: Pretend to hold a flower in your hand and take a deep breath like you are smelling it. Then, blow out your mouth like you’re blowing away the petals. Inhale and slowly bring arms above your head, exhale, and bring your arms down like a rainbow. Repeat until you feel calm.  

3. Go for a short walk or spend time outside: 

Why this works: Research suggests that moving our bodies regularly (whether through physical activity or exercise) improves our mental and physical health.  Additionally, spending time outside in nature can help us feel more calm, creative, and happy.  

Take the challenge: Go on a short walk around your block, in the park, or just sit outside and enjoy the fresh air! 

4. Listen to some relaxing music and imagine your favorite place:  

Why this works: Many studies have demonstrated that listening to music can have positive (or even negative) influence our mood and mental wellness. And, thinking about a place, whether it’s real or imaginary, that would bring us joy can really improve our mood! 

Take the challenge: Pick some music that relaxes you and while you’re listening, think about, imagine, or visualize your favorite place. Use these questions to help guide you through your imagination and share your answers when you’re finished:   

• What does this place look like?   
• What does your favorite place smell like?  
• What types of things do you hear?  

5. Write down or draw 3 things you like about yourself:  

Why this works: Focusing on our positive traits helps boost our self-esteem and our mood. Having a more positive sense of self helps us to overcome challenges when we encounter them. Writing down these positive things about ourselves can help bring our focus to these mood-boosting characteristics. 

Take the challenge: Each person writes down or draw 3 things that they like about themselves. If someone is having a hard time coming up with 3, give them some suggestions by telling them what you love about them! Hang the final product up in a place where everyone will see it every day.  

6. Take 5 deep breaths:  

Why this works: Taking deep breaths can help to calm down our nervous system and make us feel more relaxed.  

Take the challenge: Sit or lie down with your eyes closed and notice what it feels like to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Notice your chest and stomach rise as you inhale, pushing air into your belly. Then watch how your belly and chest drop back toward your body as you exhale. You can even place your hand on your belly to see it rise and fall as you breathe in and out. Slowly breathe in and slowly breathe out—don’t force it. Take a few rounds of breath. 

7. Write a note or draw a picture to someone to tell them “Thank you.”: 

Why this works: Showing gratitude helps to increase happiness levels, deepening relationships with friends and relatives, feeling a connection to others in the community, and feeling more optimistic and hopeful. Even though we know the benefits of being grateful, it can sometimes be a hard practice in the beginning. Letting someone know you are grateful for them is a great place to start!  

Take the challenge: Write a letter or draw a picture to tell someone “Thank you” for something they have done for you or for just being there for you. Don’t forget to give it to them! 

8. Sit down and relax while you drink a cup of water:  

Why this works: Taking time to enjoy the simple things in life helps us to calm down and live in the moment. Drinking water is also good for our physical health and taking a sip can help us to focus on how our bodies are feeling as well.  

Take the challenge: Sit down with a full glass of water. Sit still and quiet while you drink the whole glass or sit with a family member and have a conversation while you do. You can even try this with some herbal tea! 

share your winner!

We’re excited to see which mental wellness strategies you enjoyed the most! There’s no perfect winner of the bracket challenge, it's all about what works best for you!

Take our poll below and share your choices! We’ll be sharing results with our community all month long, and we can’t wait to see what everyone picked!